Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson will be sidelined for at least two to four more weeks, despite making progress in his recovery from a torn left hamstring, the Trail Blazers announced Friday in a news release.
Scoot Henderson Considered Week To Week
Henderson, 21, recently told The Athletic’s Jason Quick that his return wasn’t imminent and his return to basketball activities was considered “week to week.”
He initially sustained the injury in late September during a workout before training camp.
Meanwhile, veteran guard Jrue Holiday was initially questionable for Friday’s matchup at Golden State prior to being ruled out for his fourth straight game.
The Trail Blazers announced Friday that Holiday will miss at least one more week with a right calf strain. The two-time All-Star will be checked out again in one to two weeks.
In other words, Holiday could miss at least four or five more games.
Portland’s inactive list will continue to feature Henderson (left hamstring tear), Matisse Thybulle (left thumb surgery), Blake Wesley (right foot fracture), and Damian Lillard (left Achilles tendon).
Injuries Have Led To Multiple Rotation Changes
Ahead of the Blazers’ game at Golden State, the team also listed Robert Williams III (left knee injury management) as questionable and Jerami Grant (illness) as probable.
The absences have forced interim coach Tiago Splitter to lean on two-way players and third-string backups.
In the Blazers’ 122-121 home loss to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night, Sidy Cissoko made his first career start while rookie Javonte Cooke made his NBA debut.
One night earlier, when the Blazers fell 127-110 to the Phoenix Suns, Cissoko, Rayan Rupert, Caleb Love, Duop Reath, and rookie Yang Hansen were part of the rotation.
“It is not easy,” Splitter said Monday, when asked about working around injuries. “Because everything that we planned from [the] preseason and how you want a team to play all of a sudden changes … You have different personnel right now.
“With so many guys out right now, we’ve got to also think, ‘OK, how can we develop some of these guys that didn’t have many minutes?’ For example, Hansen, Caleb Love and you go on down the list. Sidy. All of them are having minutes that … you’re playing in the NBA. So you’ve got to show why you are here and get better and develop. And we’ve got to coach them and [try] to have a good game.”
Sidy Cissoko, Caleb Love Had Career Nights
Splitter is better off sticking with Cissoko, who scored a career-high 15 points in Portland’s 127-123 victory over the Warriors on Friday night. He finished 6-of-11 (54.5%) shooting from the field and 3-for-7 (42.9%) from deep.
Love also recorded a career-high 26 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists, and one steal in 37 minutes of action. He shot 9-of-20 (45%) from the floor and drilled six 3-pointers.
Since opening with five wins over the first eight games, which included victories over the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets, the Blazers (7-9) have dropped seven of their last 10 games.
The win at Golden State ended Portland’s four-game skid.
The Trail Blazers continue their three-game road trip at Oklahoma City on Sunday.
